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History and Religion

2024-08-04T11:34:40-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Did God Order His Chosen People To Commit Genocide?

Last updated on: August 4, 2024 at 11:34 am By William T. Orr, Jr.

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2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord... Read more

Politics and Religion

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Bible

Hebrew Bible

2024-07-22T17:54:33-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Seven Reasons Why People Stop Going To Church

Last updated on: July 22, 2024 at 5:54 pm By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Anyone who pays any attention at all has noticed that church attendance in America has dropped off in recent years. Some of the reasons are obvious. Others are more subtle or more complex. In this article, we will examine some of the reasons from what others have seen and from the author’s personal experience and we will explore at least one possible solution. Why do people stop going to church? Articles appear frequently, lamenting the fact that church attendance in... Read more

Family, Parenting and Religion

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Christian

church attendance

2024-07-16T12:02:24-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Was The U.S. Founded On Christian Beliefs: The Final Word

Last updated on: July 16, 2024 at 12:02 pm By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Of all the noise in American politics and journalism, one of the loudest arguments is this: Was the U.S. founded on Christian beliefs, were the founders Christian men and did they intend for the Bible to guide the country? What can we learn from the founding documents? We will look individually at some of the major players among the corps of founding fathers, but first, let us examine the documents themselves. The United States Constitution The text of the United... Read more

Politics and Religion

2024-07-11T11:13:18-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

6 Kinds of Readers: How One Sees The Bible Is The Difference

Last updated on: July 11, 2024 at 11:13 am By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Not everyone approaches the Bible in the same way. The way that a reader plunges into the text of the Bible will strongly affect what value the reader emerges with when re-gaining the surface. While I was in the process of writing a little article about the Biblical Book of Revelation, one morning I joined my local on-line Bible study led by either the rector or deacon of my local Episcopalian congregation. The subject was the apocalyptic Book of Ezekiel.... Read more

Progressive Christian

General Christian

Education and Religion

2024-07-06T18:25:18-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Revelation: A Failed Prophecy That Finds New Life

Last updated on: July 6, 2024 at 6:25 pm By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Some Christians, even today, some 200 years after it was written, believe that the Book of Revelation is a blueprint for the end of time, which they believe is now likely at hand. Let us examine that belief and see what we can make of it. Failed Prophecy Gemini-generated Image by William T. Orr, Jr. The book reports that it was written by God’s servant, John in the Greek island of Patmos. No... Read more

Progressive Christian

General Christian

Education and Religion

2024-07-05T12:38:37-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Do You Know Or Do You Believe?

Last updated on: July 5, 2024 at 12:38 pm By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Frequently, I hear people say that they know something to be true when they actually do not possess the evidence necessary for knowing. What they mean is that they believe whatever it is they say they know. I refer to this as Delusory Dysfunction. In my experience, it seems that many people suffer from this condition, which serves to limit the capacity for critical thought. What is Delusory Dysfunction? Sadly, when I have observed this in a person, more than... Read more

Progressive Christian

General Christian

Education and Religion

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Bible

Christian

2024-06-16T10:19:26-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“If I Should Fall From Grace With God”

Last updated on: June 16, 2024 at 10:19 am By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Does Shane MacGowan reveal his Christianity in his lyrics? When the news came last November that Irish singer/songwriter Shane MacGowan had died after fighting an infection for several months, it was a sad day for Irish music fans and especially for fans of the brand of Irish music typified by the Pogues, the popular band partially founded by MacGowan. Shane had been expected to make it home for Christmas, which would have been his 66th birthday, but it was not... Read more

Religious Music and Entertainment

2024-06-09T09:30:28-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What Reasons Are There Not To Read The Bible?

Last updated on: June 9, 2024 at 9:30 am By William T. Orr, Jr.

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In our last post, we discussed several reasons why reading the Bible has value for believers, agnostics and atheists alike. In this post, we will discuss some of the reasons people do not read the Bible. What are some of the reasons not to read the Bible? Over time, people have taken positions against reading the Bible. This does not negate its value as a part of the history and culture of Western civilization. We will, however, discuss some of... Read more

Education and Religion

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Bible

Christian

2024-06-06T15:07:55-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Should You Read The Bible?

Last updated on: June 6, 2024 at 3:07 pm By William T. Orr, Jr.

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People have found many reasons to read the Bible. Here, we will explore some of these reasons and we will examine what the reader can take from a study of the Bible. Why should I concern myself with a collection of books as old as the Bible? There can be a multitude of reasons to read the Bible, some spiritual, some academic, some cultural. Here, we will take a look at some of the reasons people have read the Bible... Read more

Education and Religion

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Bible

Hebrew Bible

2024-05-28T07:49:34-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is The Bible Unerring? Go Ask Asherah.

Last updated on: May 28, 2024 at 7:49 am By William T. Orr, Jr.

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Some Christians (and I am betting almost no Jews) take the entire Bible literally and view its accounts as historically accurate, seemingly without question. Is the Holy Bible the unerring revealed word of God? This question has plagued scholars and theologians. It is a question that we cannot approach, much to the aggravation of fundamentalists, with an eye to discovering “proof,” a concept that is meaningless in matters of faith. In such matters, the idea of proof is not helpful... Read more

Jewish

General Christian

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